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Shares of Hindustan Unilever (HUL) moved up in mid-morning trade after starting the day flat on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) today. There was a sudden spurt post 11-11.30 am, with the stock inching up 1.44% to touch Rs 497.10 after starting the day below Friday's close of Rs 490 a share.

Analysts attribute the upswing to a possibility of HUL declaring a decent set of Q3 numbers tomorrow. While concerns have remained on the discretionary side such as personal products and packaged foods, HUL is expected to hold forte in key categories such as soaps and detergents, where it took up price hikes in select stock keeping units through the December quarter to prop up value growth.

The largest fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) company is also expected to continue with its pipeline of launches despite the slowdown taking the sheen off the major in the last two quarters. The last few months saw the company invest heavily in categories such as hair care with high-end products such as Tresemme. HUL has maintained that the next level of growth for it will come from new emerging categories as existing segments begin to saturate.